But he was able to see what the black-hooded figures did. They started walking towards the town mayor's office.

'What in the fucking hell was that?!' He cursed.

Pier immediately closed the curtains of his window and hurried to open the door. Once he was in the bricked hallway, he hurried towards the knight's quarters to call for his knight.

While he was half-walking and half-running, thoughts were running in his head.

'The town mayor is going to die?' It was just like what he imagined in those detective and crime documentaries where people would leave a note about someone getting murdered.

'But why did they tell me not to come?' He was also confused. What was the purpose of their letter if it wasn't to lure him out in the town mayor's office?

Why did they let him know and told him not to come?

His hurried steps resonated throughout the empty halls and the chills he got from time to time made him a little bit scared at what he had seen.

'Surely I wasn't hallucinating, was I?' Pier questioned his vision but he knew that he had an extraordinary vision because he can see things from far away distances so he was almost a hundred percent sure that what he saw was real.

When he reached the knight's quarters, he immediately voiced Gideon's name.

Why would he go there alone? His safety was more important so he decided to take Gideon with him.

"Gideon!" He called out and Gideon who was talking with his friends responded without hesitation at his young master's voice.

He left his friends who were confused as to what happened but he did not mind. He saw the exasperated and fear-stricken face of his young master which made him alert.

"What's wrong, young master?" Gideon said when he reached Pier.

Pier pointed outside and spoke

"Come with me, now! The town mayor is going to die!" He half-shouted and Gideon's eyes widened in response.

Gideon's friends who also heard his statement became flabbergasted at the words.

"Young Master, a-are you sure about that?" Gideon's friends asked. Pier nodded his head frantically and immediately ordered them.

"Gather the knights and immediately head to the mayor's office. I have personally seen people who wore black hooded cloaks head there earlier!" Their spines shivered and fear swept across their emotions at the young master's description.

"We will heed your commands, young master!" Pier nodded his head and together with Gideon, they started heading out in the snowy streets of the town square.

The eerie feeling Pier got when he met eye to eye with the people who wore dark hooded cloaks intensified once he was out in the open area of the town square.

He also forgot to wear his winter clothes outside so the cold heightened his shivering.

Gideon was worried about Pier's actions but he still decided to follow him. Pier was a person he knew that does not like doing something that would waste his energy and he saw how nervous the young master was when he called him.

They trudged through the snow which was starting to pile on the streets, the town mayor's office was still a few minutes walk from their building and he had to exactly cross the middle of the town square to get there.

Light from the houses shone upon them and it gave Pier a small sense of assurance. Their shadows walked upon the miniature mountains of snow and their breaths fogged as they were exposed to the almost freezing temperature.

Rustle!

Pier was quick to turn his head back from the direction that they had come from and saw a fleeting shadow hide behind an alleyway.

"Gideon..." He spoke silently and Gideon immediately understood what his young master meant with a single word. He unsheathed his sword and did an attacking stance.

It was quiet for a few minutes. Pier did not want to follow the shadow that hid behind the alleys of the dark streets because he is not stupid like the characters who dies in movies.

Without speaking anything, his wind magic manifested in his palms and the gusts of wind that came from his elemental magic disturbed the silent downfall of the snow upon their heads.

"Protect the backside while we continue to head in the mayor's office. Do not worry about me, I can handle myself" Pier said and Gideon nodded his head in response. He trusted Pier's magic even though he might look weak and fragile.

Together, the two walk towards the mayor's office. Their backs touched each other as Gideon was wary of the backside and Pier had his whip ready on the front.

'When the sun fully goes down?' Pier looked up at the melancholic sky that was filled with dark and gloomy clouds. He could not see the sun at all.

'Did the town mayor die already?' He was starting to make assumptions but at the same time, he had a small hunch in his mind that the sun had not fully set yet.

When he slept, it was around one in the afternoon and if he slept for three hours, it would be around four o'clock right now.

'If they were to base the settings in a place where the sun would usually set at the usual time, it would be around quarter to five' Pier calculated his thoughts. He was trying to think of things that would make the scenario happening right now stay in the positive lane.

When Gideon and Pier finally reached the town mayor's office door, they both inhaled deeply. They were nervous about what was going to happen, especially Pier who saw the black hooded figures stare and smile at him earlier.

"Should we wait for the other knights, young master?" Gideon asked warily and Pier shook his head.

There were only a few minutes left until the time would reach quarter to five and even though Pier did not want to enter and just huddle up in his warm sheets, he cannot ignore the threat that someone is about to die with him only knowing.

"No, they said in the letter that when the sun fully goes down, they will murder the town's mayor. There is only a little bit of time left until it reaches quarter to five where the sun was known to usually set" Gideon was amazed at Pier's boldness and analysis of the situation they were in.

He gripped the sheathe of his sword tighter and proceeded to watch their backs closer.

"Besides, it would take them faster to follow us because they probably do not have to worry and slow down like we did because they will be in groups" He stated and Gideon nodded his head.

Pier went to knock on the door of the office building but when he was about to, he saw that the door was slightly ajar.

The premonition that something bad was about to happen intensified and made his insides churn with uncomfortableness. He really did not want to be here and witness murder scenes firsthand but he would definitely feel guilty.

'Only if it wasn't for that damn letter I wouldn't have cared!' He seethed in anger and frustration. His peaceful slumber in cold evenings became a total creep-crime solving case in an instant.

Pier inhaled a deep breath and exhaled. The cloud of breath made everything more sinister and ominous.

He started to push the wooden door and as he did, it made creaking sounds.

When he fully opened the door, it was dark. The town mayor's office building had two stories. One was for receiving guests and the other was the personal office of the mayor himself.

Inside, the lights were turned off and everything was silent. No sound could be heard except for the creaking of the door and Pier's footsteps.

Pier fully stepped inside the building and he tried to avoid making any noise.

'Right now they must have known I'm already here if the shadow that passed us earlier in the alleyway was their subordinate' He thought but he remained careful.

He first checked the first floor of the building. It was spacious enough to cater up to a hundred individuals if they were to stick side by side with their arms stretched from each other.

The receiving area was dead silent and there was nobody else there.

Thump!

A sound was heard on the second floor of the building and both Pier and Gideon's spines shivered.

Pier calmed his beating heart down and turned his head up to the second floor of the building.

"Fuck" He cursed before he made his resolve to start climbing the stairs towards the second floor.

Each and every step he took was intensifying the creepiness he feels.

'I'm starting to act like the dumb characters in those novels and horror shows!' He scolded himself but he could not help but become one because a life was in danger and possibly, only him knew about it.

When he reached the middle of the steps, Gideon bumped in Pier's back because the young master had stopped in his tracks.

"Young Master...?" Gideon asked when he saw Pier was only staring at the top of the stairs. He also trailed his eyes in the direction Pier was looking at and his eyes widened at what he saw.

On the last step of the stairs, a hand that seems to be lifeless could be seen. The area further in the steps was dark so only the hand was visible.

The hand weakly flailed around as if it was asking for help.

Until it seemed like the body was dragged in the darkness, the hand disappeared from their sights.

Pier shivered with fear at the scenario of the lifeless-looking hand flailing around asking for their help. His heartbeat increased tenfold and his hand was sweating so much.

'Calm down, calm down' He assured himself and took another set of multiple breaths.

Soon enough, his flame magic manifested in his hand and illuminated the surroundings.

'There's no point in being quiet because they seemed like they were playing with us' He thought and bravely took the remaining steps of the stairs.

When he reached the top of the stairs, another eerie and creepy hallway greeted both of them.

A few meters away from the steps was the door to the mayor's office.

Pier and Gideon approached the door. Pier's flames gave light to each of their steps and made the ominous feeling slightly disappear.

When they reached the door of the mayor's office, Pier decided to not open it up yet. Instead, he turned to look at the keyhole of the door.

Slowly, he crouched down. His flames igniting a few degrees higher.

Pier looked through the keyhole and what he saw made his heart stop for a second and his breath hitched.

An eye was also looking through the keyhole, staring back at him.

---

"Your Highness!" Asher was in the stables tending to his horse which was neighing as it ate the vegetables the prince had brought.

He turned his head to look at those who called him and saw a group of knights running in his direction.

"Speak," He told them when they reached him.

"T-The young master!" At the mention of Pier's title, Asher's eyes widened.

"What happened to Pier?" He hurriedly asked.

"The- The young master said that he had seen suspicious figures head towards the town mayor's office and the young master had also stated that the town mayor will die!" The knight asked and Asher was baffled with the words of the knight.

"Are you sure about that? beacuse-"

"Please believe us, your highness! The young master and knight Gideon have gone there first already!" Surprised with the group of knights' reactions and expressions, Asher immediately left the stables.

"Gather all the knights who are currently at the nearest vicinity! Equip your swords and armors and immediately head to the town mayor's office!" He commanded and the knights' spirits who were a little bit scared with Pier's words earlier felt secured with the prince's words.

Immediately, knights who were not tasked to guard the entrances of the boundary and those who were at the closest areas were gathered.

Together, Asher and the royal knights started marching towards the town mayor's office.

While they were walking, Asher saw multiple sets of footprints.

"Did you say Pier and his knight were the ones who proceeded to the mayor's office?" He asked the knight who informed him earlier about the situation.

"Yes, your highness!" However, that did not reassure Asher, because when he turned to look at the set of footprints in the snow, there were three pairs and not only two.

---

Pier stumbled upon his back when he saw the eye that was also peeking through the keyhole. He was surprised and he was scared shitless at the view.

"Y-Young master!" Surprised with what happened to Pier, Gideon hurriedly went to help Pier get up.

"No- Gideon!" Pier screamed as he saw a hooded figure appear from the shadows behind Gideon's back who turned to help him.

---

"Twelve knights surround the building immediately and do not let anyone out regardless of identity!" Asher ordered in a panicked manner and twelve knights followed his commands.

He immediately went inside the door that was open. His knights followed him inside as they observed the first floor of the mayor's building. There was no sign of anything getting disturbed except for a few papers that were not properly piled on top of the attendant's desk.

"Immediately head to the second floor of the bui-"

"No- Gideon!" Asher's eyes widened at the scream he heard.

'Pier!' The hair on the back of his neck raised in chills and his eyes widened at how Pier sounded so surprised and afraid.

Without wasting any moment, Asher and his knights climbed up the stairs of the building.

When they reached the final steps of the second floor, everyone gasped in horror at the sight of Pier's knight lying in front of the door motionless and the young master getting choked while being pinned to the wall by a dark cloaked figure.

The hooded figure was holding a knife up Pier's face and Pier was grunting as if he was trying to set himself free from the cloaked figure's grasp.

"LET THE YOUNG MASTER GO THIS INSTANT!" Asher screamed and the hooded figure turned to look at them.

"Tsk" He clicked his tongue as he saw the battalion of knights who were behind Asher and immediately let go of Pier. But before he could do so, a sword slashed his hand off.

In an instant, blood gushed out from the cloaked figure's arm and made a pool in front of them.

"AAH!" The figure screamed in pain of having his hand getting sliced off.

The figure stumbled a few steps as blood continuously got out from his body and Asher did not miss the chance to wield his sword and continue to attack the figure.

The hooded figure could not cope with the Crown Prince's swordsmanship as he had one of his hands sliced off and he was writhing in pain.

Swoosh!

Asher dealt the final blow and the cloaked figure's lifeless body fell on the bricked floor of the building.

Asher was about to turn his head back and check on Pier after killing the person who had his arms around Pier's neck earlier when he saw that the body slowly turned into ashes.

His eyes widened and his hands trembled at the view.